Crimes Against Foreigners

In case you thought the mayor was not serious about his plans to make Angeles City a better and safer place for foreign nationals, here is an extract from a recent press release (dated 2 September 2010)

HARP and ACPO TO STOP CRIMES AGAINST FOREIGN NATIONALS

The Angeles City Police Office, on instructions from Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, issued a memorandum dated 2 September 2010 entitled “Police Operations Related to Foreign Nationals” directing all police station/unit commanders in the city to immediately “stop victimizing foreign national(s) allegedly involved in illegal drugs and sex exploitation of minors.

The directive was issued after a meeting between the ACPO and members of the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Pampanga (HARP) led by its president, Jim Dale of Hotel La Casa. ACPO Col. Gemma Vinluan was invited to speak on police operations.

It was reported to her that too often foreign nationals fall victim to criminal elements using women and children in their set-ups and scams. Foreign tourists staying in hotels are arrested without a warrant, according to HARP, on the pretext that they are caught molesting children, exploiting minors, or are involved in illegal drugs. They are then open to extortion from criminal elements. Col. Vinluan promised HARP members to look into the matter.

The subsequent directive allows the owner/manager of an establishment where the incident took place to call the City Director and confirm if the police operation is authorized. Any PNP personnel “who violate the directive shall automatically be subjected to Pre-charge Evaluation with his/her station or unit commander and be given corresponding administrative sanctions.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Pamintuan advises all hotels, restaurants etc to join HARP. The mayor urged all business owners to cooperate with local officials and to discuss areas of concern so they may be resolved by the city government. Only then will the tourism industry have a strong voice in the city.

Editorial:

This is a hopeful beginning, but there is still some way to go in preventing these crimes, not the least of which is the perception that police officers are behind many of them. Whether the local plod are better trained, equipped and disciplined than those who botched the rescue of Hong Kong tourists from a bus, hijacked by a former policeman, remains to be seen.

It certainly seems that Angeles City’s Mayor Pamintuan is prepared to listen and the voice he will listen to most often on tourism related issues is HARP. If you want your voice heard or to participate in decisions affecting the tourist precinct of Balibago, becoming a member of HARP is probably the best thing you can do right now.

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